Quick Answer: For two shipping containers placed side by side, the spacing depends on what you want between them. Leave a few inches to a foot for drainage and rust prevention, plan a 1 to 1.5 ft door-swing gap if the cargo doors open toward each other, and 8 to 12 ft if a roof will span the middle. Bins touching is fine for pure storage.
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In This Guide
- How much space should go between two containers side by side?
- Can two shipping containers touch, or do you need a gap?
- How much door-swing clearance do two bins need?
- How wide a gap do you need to roof the space between?
- How do you deliver two containers in the right order?
- How much room does the truck need for a two-box drop?
- How do you mark two container spots before delivery day?
- FAQs
This is one of the most common questions we get at Van Blanc once a buyer decides on two units instead of one. People picture a tidy pair of bins lined up in the yard, and the next thought is: how far apart do they go? The honest answer is that there is no single number. The right gap between two shipping containers placed side by side is set by the job you want the gap to do, and that job is usually one of three things: keeping the steel from trapping moisture, leaving room for the cargo doors to open, or holding up a roof. Each one gives you a different measurement.
We have set down a lot of paired containers across Ontario since 1995, on farms in Norfolk, on construction yards around Hamilton, behind shops in the Waterloo region, and on rural lots all over Brant County. The pattern that gets people in trouble is deciding the gap after the trucks have left. Decide it first, mark it on the ground, and the delivery goes clean.
How Much Space Should Go Between Two Containers Side by Side?
The space between two shipping containers placed side by side is set by the job the gap does. Allow a few inches to a foot for drainage and rust prevention, 1 to 1.5 ft if cargo doors open into the gap, and 8 to 12 ft if a roof will span the middle. Touching is fine for plain storage.
A shipping container is 8 ft (2.44 m) wide on the outside. Two of them side by side cover 16 ft of width before you add any gap. That part is fixed. What you choose to put between them is what changes the footprint, so the first decision is what the space is for.
Walk it through in plain terms. If the two bins are just bulk storage and the doors are at the ends, you may not want any meaningful gap at all. If the doors are on the long side, or the doors of the two bins face into the space between them, you need room to swing them. If you are building a covered area in the middle, a carport, a workshop bay, an equipment lean-to, then the gap becomes a designed span and the number jumps. So before anyone measures anything, answer this: is the space between the two containers dead storage, a working corridor, or a roofed room?
The three gaps, at a glance
| Gap type | Typical width | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Drainage gap (storage) | A few inches to about a foot | Stops the two steel walls from trapping water and slows rust where the sides would otherwise touch. |
| Door-swing gap (access) | Roughly 1 to 1.5 ft, more for a loading aisle | Clear room past the door’s path when cargo doors open into the space, or enough to walk a pallet jack through. |
| Roof-span gap (covered area) | 8 to 12 ft, up to about 20 ft engineered | A single-span roof between the two bins for a vehicle bay, workshop, or sheltered equipment area. |
Paul LeBlanc, Van Blanc: “First thing I ask anyone pairing two bins is what the space in the middle is going to do. Storage and they can almost touch. Doors opening in there, or a roof going over, and the number changes completely. Decide that and the gap decides itself. I have watched that one question in my 19 years in containers save people a second delivery trip.”
Can Two Shipping Containers Touch, or Do You Need a Drainage Gap?
Two shipping containers can sit touching, and plenty of paired containers in Ontario do, with their sides almost flush against each other, and for pure storage that is a reasonable choice. It is the tightest footprint, it looks neat, and it gives you two separate lockable boxes. The catch is moisture. When two steel walls sit flush against each other, rain and snowmelt run down into the seam and stay there. Dirt and leaf litter pack in. That trapped damp is where surface rust starts on the side panels, which are thinner than the corrugated ends and corner posts.
For that reason we usually suggest leaving at least a few inches, and ideally close to a foot, between two bins that will live outdoors for years. The small gap lets air move, lets water drain and dry, and lets you actually see and clean the sides later. A foot is also enough to get a brush, a pressure washer wand, or a paint roller down the channel if you ever touch up the steel. None of this matters for a few weeks of temporary storage. It matters a lot for a pair of bins that will sit on a farm or a yard for a decade.
The rust logic behind the gap
Shipping containers are built from Corten-style weathering steel, which is designed to form a stable surface patina rather than rot through quickly. That protection works best when the steel can shed water and dry out between rains. Two walls clamped together defeat that by holding moisture against the panels around the clock. A drainage gap exists for one reason: it keeps the steel out of the single condition it was never built to sit in, standing moisture trapped against the panels around the clock. Set the bins on a level base too, so neither one tips its runoff into the gap.
How Much Door-Swing Clearance Do Two Bins Need?
Door-swing clearance between two shipping containers is the gap people forget until the day they try to load. Standard cargo doors are on the end of the container, and each of the two doors swings on its hinges roughly 270 degrees, all the way back flat against the side wall. Each door panel is close to 4 ft wide, so a fully open set of doors needs a clear arc out past the end of the bin before they fold back along the side.
If your two containers sit side by side with the doors at the ends, and those door ends are open and clear, door swing is not your spacing problem. The doors swing outward at the ends, not into the gap between the bins. Where it becomes a spacing problem is when buyers orient the two containers so the door ends face each other across a gap, making a kind of U-shaped working bay. In that layout you need the gap to be wide enough for both sets of doors to open without clashing, which means more than just the door-swing arc.
The work-bay layout
A common setup on contractor and farm sites: two 20ft (6.1 m) bins parked parallel with the door ends facing each other, forming a sheltered work area in the middle. To open both sets of doors and still move between them, plan for the doors’ swing plus a real working aisle. We often see 8 to 12 ft chosen here, which doubles as the span for a roof later. Less than the door width and you cannot get the doors flat; tight and you are squeezing past steel edges with your arms full. If the layout is for daily loading, give yourself the room.
One honest note on door placement: not every container has doors only at one end. Some buyers have us cut in a man door, a roll-up door, or side double doors before delivery, and that changes which gap matters. If you are planning the orientation, tell us where you want to load from. That one detail decides whether the gap between your two bins is dead space or your main access.
How Wide a Gap Do You Need to Roof the Space Between Two Containers?
To roof the space between two side-by-side containers, the most popular reason people leave a deliberate gap, plan on 8 to 12 ft. Span a simple peaked or shed roof from the top rail of one bin to the top rail of the other and you get a covered bay for free: equipment parking, a hay or feed area, a sheltered workshop, a place to back a trailer out of the snow. The two containers become the walls and the load-bearing supports, and the roof rides on top.
Here the gap is a design decision, not a rule. A narrow span of 8 to 10 ft is easy and cheap to cover and gives you a single-vehicle bay. Around 12 ft opens up to a wider bay or a small shop floor. Spans up to roughly 20 ft are done, but the wider you go the more the roof structure has to carry, especially with Ontario snow load, so larger spans want a proper framing design and often an engineer’s sign-off. The container roofs you buy as a kit clamp to the top rails and give you the pitch; what spans the gap between is framing sized for your width and your snow.
Get the drainage right before the roof goes on
The single biggest mistake on a roof-between-two-containers build is ignoring where the water goes. A roof that drains toward the gap will pour runoff straight down into the channel between your bins, exactly where you do not want standing water against the steel. Pitch the roof to shed outward over the far sides, or run eavestrough so the water lands clear of both containers. Plan the slope and the gutters at the same time you pick the gap width, not after.
If a covered span is where you are headed, our guide to clamp-on roofs that bridge two bins walks through the kit options, the clamp hardware, and how the pitch is set, so you can match the gap width to the roof you actually want.
Pairing two bins? Plan the gap with us first.
Tell us the two container sizes, how you want them oriented, and whether the middle is for storage, access, or a roof. Send your postal code and a photo of the spot. We will work out the right gap, confirm both bins fit, and plan a delivery sequence that lands them clean and parallel. The fastest answer is a call to the Brantford yard, describe the layout and we will tell you on the spot.
Van Blanc Ent. Inc. · 90 Morton Ave. East, Unit 1-B, Brantford, ON · Family-run since 1995 · 4.9 stars across 124+ Google reviews · Fast 1-3 day delivery across Ontario.
How Do You Deliver Two Containers Side by Side in the Right Order?
Delivering two containers side by side is more involved than running two single deliveries that happen to land near each other. The order and the spacing have to be planned together, because a tilt-deck truck sets each box down by sliding it off the back of the trailer at ground level, then driving forward out from under it. That same tilt-deck and crane mechanics we cover in our rundown of how a container actually gets to your site apply twice over here: the truck needs a clear straight path in front of where each container will sit, and the first bin you place must not block the path the truck needs to set the second.
On most jobs we place the far bin first, the one deeper into the site or further from the approach, then place the near one beside it. If the trucks come on separate runs, we still plan both spots before the first one lands, because once the first container is down you cannot nudge it sideways without a HIAB crane. The gap you marked on the ground is what gives the driver the target. With the gap pre-marked, both boxes land parallel and the right distance apart in one visit, no fix-it trip later.
Christian LeBlanc, Van Blanc: “The two-container drops go smooth when the customer has marked the gap on the ground before we get there. Spray paint, two rows of stakes, a couple of boards, anything. When it is just a hand wave at the yard, the second bin always ends up a foot off, and steel does not slide over once it is down.”
How Much Room Does the Truck Need for a Two-Box Drop?
The room the truck needs for a two-box drop is the same access a single delivery needs, just lined up for two spots instead of one. On a tilt-deck delivery the working numbers we plan around are a straight pull-out roughly the length of the bin plus the truck: about 75 to 100 ft for a 20ft (6.1 m) container and about 120 to 130 ft for a 40ft (12.2 m). Add roughly 12 ft of width along the whole approach, and 14 to 16 ft of overhead clearance during the tilt (closer to 16 ft for a high cube, which stands 9 ft 6 in tall instead of 8 ft 6 in).
For two boxes side by side, the width need is the bigger thing to think about. You are clearing more than one 12 ft lane: you need enough total width to position the truck for each spot in turn, which usually means the combined footprint of both containers plus your chosen gap plus room for the trailer to sit beside whichever box it is placing. On open ground that is easy. On a tight urban lot it is the constraint that decides whether a tilt-deck works at all, or whether one or both bins want a HIAB crane lift to swing into place. A crane is not the default, the container lands at ground level off the tilt-deck when access allows, but it is the answer when the truck simply cannot get a straight run beside both spots.
Why firm, dry ground matters double here
A loaded delivery truck with a 40ft container can run well past 45,000 lbs combined, and that whole weight rolls across your ground on the way to both placement spots. Soft, wet, or freshly graded ground will rut and bog a truck down, and a stuck truck stops the whole two-box delivery. Firm, dry, level ground is what lets the driver line up cleanly for each container. On softer sites, a compacted gravel pad under both bins and along the approach is cheap insurance, and it doubles as the level base that keeps your drainage gap draining the right way.
How Do You Mark Two Container Spots Before Delivery Day?
To mark two container spots before delivery day, you do not need a survey. You need both container footprints and the gap drawn on the actual ground so the driver has a target. Here is the quick version we walk customers through.
The two-container marking steps
- Decide the gap’s job first. Drainage gap, door-swing aisle, or roof span. That single choice sets your number before you measure anything.
- Mark both footprints. Each box is 8 ft wide. Lay out two rectangles the right length for your sizes (20 ft or 40 ft long), with your chosen gap between them. Stakes, spray paint, or boards all work.
- Check the door ends are clear. Stand where the doors will open and make sure the swing arc is unobstructed, especially if the door ends face the gap.
- Trace the truck’s path. Walk the straight pull-out in front of each spot. Look up for wires and branches, look down for soft ground, look sideways for the 12 ft width.
- Send us photos. A couple of pictures of the marked spots and the approach tell us more than any description, and let us confirm both bins fit before a truck rolls.
Two bins, one Brantford yard
We deliver paired containers right across Ontario from our Brantford yard, and you are welcome to come walk the bins before you commit. Buyers from across the province make the drive to 90 Morton Avenue East because seeing the steel, checking the doors, and pairing two well-matched units for a side-by-side layout in person beats guessing from a screen. Every quote comes with a real lead time, not a hopeful one, and our delivery is cash on delivery, the same straight dealing customers have cited for thirty years.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much space should I leave between two shipping containers placed side by side?
It depends on the gap’s job. For plain storage you can place them almost touching, though leaving a few inches up to about a foot is better for drainage and rust prevention. If cargo doors open into the space, plan roughly 1 to 1.5 ft of clear swing room or a wider aisle for loading. If a roof will span the middle, 8 to 12 ft is the common range.
Can two shipping containers be placed touching each other?
Yes, and for short-term or pure storage it is fine. The downside is long-term moisture: two steel walls flush against each other trap water and debris in the seam, which is where surface rust starts on the thinner side panels. For bins that will sit outdoors for years, leaving a small drainage gap of a few inches to a foot lets the steel shed water and dry, and lets you clean the sides later.
How wide a gap do I need to put a roof between two containers?
A single-span roof between two side-by-side containers is most often built over an 8 to 12 ft gap, which suits a vehicle bay or small workshop. Wider spans up to roughly 20 ft are possible but need a proper framing design and usually an engineer’s sign-off for Ontario snow load. Whatever width you pick, pitch the roof to drain outward so runoff does not pour into the gap.
Do you need room for the container doors when placing two side by side?
Only if the doors open into the space between the bins. Standard cargo doors are on the ends and swing about 270 degrees back flat against the side wall, each panel close to 4 ft wide. If the door ends are open and clear, the gap between the two bins does not affect the doors. If you orient the door ends facing each other, make the gap wide enough for both sets of doors plus a working aisle.
Can you deliver and place two shipping containers side by side in one visit?
Usually yes. We plan both spots and the gap before the first box lands, because a tilt-deck slides each container off at ground level and then drives forward to clear, so the order matters and a placed bin cannot be nudged sideways without a crane. Mark the gap on the ground ahead of time and both boxes land parallel and correctly spaced. Where access is tight, a HIAB crane lift places them precisely.
Sources
- International Organization for Standardization. (2022). ISO 6346:2022, Freight containers: Coding, identification and marking. iso.org
- Tradecorp. (2025). How Much Room Does a Shipping Container Truck Need at My Site? tradecorp-usa.com
- Domino Clamps. (2025). How to Plan Your Shipping Container Roof Project. dominoclamps.com
- Mobile Modular Portable Storage. (2025). Shipping Container Doors: Hinges, Swing, and Access. mobilemodularcontainers.com
- Transport Canada. (2025). National Safety Code Standard 10: Cargo Securement. tc.canada.ca
Reach Van Blanc in Brantford
We have been supplying shipping containers across Ontario since 1995. Our warehouse is at 90 Morton Avenue E in Brantford, and we deliver right across the province on a cash-on-delivery basis. No surprise fees, no chase-the-paperwork.
Van Blanc Ent. Inc., 90 Morton Ave E Unit 1B, Brantford, ON N3R 7J7, 519-754-6844
Setting up a pair of bins? Send the two sizes, how you want them oriented, and a photo of the spot. We will plan the gap and the delivery sequence with you before delivery day and give you a real lead time, not a hopeful one.